Ace of Spades

Sometimes a book screams at me to read it and so I hype it up so much in my own head. You can imagine that can end very badly if I end up not liking the book because the crash back down to earth hurts. Such was not the case here. NOT EVEN A LITTLE BIT.

One private school. Two Black teenagers from the opposite sides of society's tracks. Devon's mom has sacrificed much so the musical protege can lead them to a better life. Chiamaka wants for nothing. One anonymous texter exposing their darkest secrets.

This book is very difficult to review because it is, amongst other things, a thriller. And I'm don't want to give anything away as that really would ruin the book for you. I will say it is twisty and dark. I went in kind of blind and don't regret that at all. It was a Bookish First win and once I saw the cover I knew I had to have it. BOOKWORM INTUITION IS REAL.

I think books like this are super important to show how ingrained racism can be in institutions, but for me, the execution was lacking. The beginning reads like a gossip girl rip-off with nothing new. Then you move on in Part 2 of the story and the inconsistencies and plot changes just give you whiplash. I also think there are some issues with how the book ends. The epilogue gave some good insight into the future, but also had added details that just seemed ridiculous to me.

Overall, this book had potential but lacked the proper execution for me.

What can I even say about this amazing five-star read? I'm a big fan of this author NOW! From the trigger warning at the beginning to the beautiful way she writes, she has created a piece with a lot of attention to detail. There is never a dull moment in this book. You want to read it from the first scene to the last sentence.

The whole story reflects the reality of many people of color. I've personally experienced racism because of being brown in different countries, and this book speaks to people like us. It's important to speak out against the violence that people of color face. Racism is still a big problem in white societies. The author handles this difficult topic in a great way. I can't wait to read more from her!

so this book is very complicated for me. what the book was trying to am for it did really well. i really enjoyed most of this book. the ending wasn't my favorite similar to the end of no one is watching by alyssa cole but i didn't dislike it nearly as much as that one. i also really related to chiamaka personally. she is mixed like me and often a lot of the things she said i would find annoying but i used to think those same things back in middle school. she's a senior in high school tho and should know better but imma just move past that part. devon had an interesting storyline but they packed on every single stereotypical trauma onto him. it was just a bit too much but is realistic for some experiences. because the book did what it aimed to do well, i really can't fault it BUT i'm tired of all this black trauma. i want a thriller with black characters where the whole plot doesn't revolve around some people trying to get them for their race. race is apart of life and it will always be apart of black books but racial trauma doesn't have to be the catalyst. as i said the first maybe like 75% was a solid 5 star for me because even though i had problems, it felt like pretty little liars but more diverse and it was eating it up. the end was more like a 2.5 but since it was only 1/4 of the book i'm giving this book 4 stars 

Probably closer to 3.5/5 for me. This was a pretty entertaining high school mystery-thriller that is occasionally a little hard to read with the hard-hitting social commentary that it includes. It touches upon the injustices of being Black in many Western countries around the world, but specifically America in this book, while also appealing to a YA demographic with a touch of Gossip Girl in the mix.

Chiamaka Adebayo is the Queen Bee of her high school, the prestigious Niveus Academy, and she's worked hard to get there, hoping to continue on her perfect life to Yale and then med school. On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have social outcast Devon Richards from a single-parent family struggling to make ends meet and only affording his tuition fees at Niveus on scholarship, hoping to make it to Julliard one day with his talent with music. Despite having nothing socially in common, Chiamaka and Devon are inexplicably targeted by Aces, an anonymous cyber-bully spreading malicious gossip about them shortly after school begins, but then things start coming to light that are more dangerous secrets than just mere gossip.

From the beginning, I thought Chiamaka's chapters were easier to get into but also more annoying to read especially since it's contrasted with Devon's chapters. Chi's problems stem mainly from how to be the best and most powerful Mean Girl in school, and being very cognizant of the social hierarchies that she actively climbs in order to get to her present position. But these chapters are interspersed with those from Devon's perspective, where we see him dealing with loneliness, ostracism, keeping his homosexuality in the closet at home, the vicious cycle of poverty and lack of opportunities that he's trying desperately to break out of even if it means having to suck up being in a school he absolutely hates, and how the system forces people like him into crime and prisons. His chapters are harder and more unpleasant to read, and also make Chi's chapters sound really frivolous and silly. I'm not sure if this was the author's intention though.

The book also felt a little draggy in the middle. There's not a wealth of secrets or plot twists in the middle, so the whole process of events unfolding for Chiamaka and Devon inevitably felt rather slow. Even when the anonymous Aces releases another piece of news, we pretty much already know what are Chi and Devon's secrets already so there's a lack of tension there.

The ending was unexpected and pretty interesting, though I would say a bit flawed and absolute. I'm not mad at the way it ended though and do think there's a lot of real-life validity in how Àbíké-Íyímídé decided to wrap up the story than how it may initially appear. Spoilery thoughts: I'm not sure if I liked the plot twist about Aces being not just one person but the whole school, but I guess it was a pretty acceptable way for things to go. If it had just been one person, it would've undermined Àbíké-Íyímídé's message that Black students aren't being just targeted by one specific person but in fact by the whole system that they live in. It was a rather heavy-handed way of conveying that message IMO and also runs a high risk of overgeneralization, where people (especially younger audiences) may fall into the trap of painting entire groups of people with the same brush, but I do think the message itself is valid. There're a lot of things that had the dramatic factor dialed up to eleven for entertainment purposes, like the school values lining up to make an acrostic message, or having the masked person turning out to be Belle's sister who Chiamaka had “run over” beforehand when presumably she doesn't attend the school so why would she be the one running the errand? And also Belle adding Chi to her Facebook but Martha not thinking that Chi would see her profile when she commented on Belle's photo? I mean, the whole idea of a school banding together to specifically target 2 Black students every decade just sounds super over the top (although I guess sometimes fact is stranger than fiction, so who knows if this might be a possibility?).

This was entertaining enough though, and I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a YA high school mystery-thriller.

In ‘Ace of Spades,' Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé paints an emotional masterpiece, pulling you into the raw reality of BiPOCs. It's not just a book; it's a journey that makes your heart ache with the characters' pain and frustration. You find yourself cheering for their strength amid adversities, and the beautifully crafted ending is like a warm hug after a storm, leaving you with a sense of hope and understanding. Àbíké-Íyímídé doesn't just tell a story; she invites you to feel it deeply.
What sets this book apart is its ability to not only shed light on the challenges but also to portray resilience and strength. The beautifully crafted ending serves as a ray of hope, offering a poignant counterbalance to the earlier tension and hardship. Overall, ‘Ace of Spades' is a thought-provoking and emotionally resonant work that leaves a lasting impact on its readers.

Maybe a 3.5?
I like the book a lot if I don't think about it too hard or if I was prepared for it to be like an allegory type novel. I like basic plot structure, but there are certain parts that take it a step or three too far. If I was prepared for the mythic proportions of the story, those “too far” moments wouldn't bother me so much.
I loved the characters of Devon and Chiamaka. They are not typical teen characters and I love the way they expand the possibilities of what teen characters can be. I loved that they were not a good team and had to work out some issues to get on the same page to fight the bad guy.
I think I shared most of what I didn't like before. But one other thing that distracted me from the story was the amount of romance or hooking up. Maybe it was supposed to be distracting, like to put us in the mind of the characters further. Not sure, but I don't think all of it was necessary for the story.
The epilogue was a great addition to the story and really helped wrap everything up.
If you are considering picking up this book, be prepared for mythic story telling and I think you will enjoy it more.

A 3.95 for me. It's a really thrilling book that I enjoyed, I kept turning the pages to find out what happens next. Up until the reveal and final execution in the last few chapters, which gets absolutely bonkers in a really unrealistic way that put me off, and it overall felt really abrupt. I don't know how Chiamaka and Devon can trust anyone after all the traumatic city-wide shit they went through.. and more importantly, I was rooting for the sapphics

Started out being too much like PLL and GG, but it got better wheb things turned more serious. I really liked how queer it was, and I liked that Devon and Chiamaka were had such clearly different black experiences and backgrounds, but obviously still had so many other common experiences too. It led to a great nuance, and made it easy to tell from the writing alone who was telling the story in the chapters.

I read this as a buddy read with my friend Tierney over on bookstagram and even though I didn't love it, I am glad I read it. This is my first Young Adult thriller/mystery in a long time and if I was the targeted audience, I would have loved this book through and through. However, since I am a mother, in my thirties, this book just didn't quite do it for me and left a lot to be desired in my opinion. With that being said, it's a great book and touches on important topics.

To begin with, Ace of Spades follows two students who go to a prestigious high school and in their senior year someone under the name Ace of Spades starts spreading their secrets and other personal stuff for the whole school to see. They have to figure out what's going on before time runs out and their futures hang in the balance. I liked this plot, even though I haven't been in high school in a long time and it wasn't the best novel I read that takes place in a high school. I thought that the first half of the book dragged somewhat and the ending felt a bit anticlimactic for me. Everything was wrapped up too perfectly and there was no place for pondering anything further. Some things I saw coming and others I did not but since I wasn't extremely invested in the story or the characters, they didn't have much of an impact on me either way.

Further on, the characterization was above average for me in this book. I thought that the two main characters we were following had somewhat of deep backgrounds and we got to know them pretty well. However, this being a Young Adult novel, the character depth just wasn't quite there for me, not like it is in a well-written adult novel. Also, I had a hard time relating to the characters, since they were in high school and going to a prestigious one at that. The book was interesting enough but it didn't keep me hooked all the way through.

Finally, the writing style was a very popular one for Young Adult books. I thought that it was simple and to the point but didn't add anything more to the novel. It got the story across but that's all it really did, nothing that made me ponder anything further.

In conclusion, I would recommend this book to young adults, around high school age who will be able to relate to the characters more than I did. It's also good for people who want a more in-depth look into some of the issues surrounding African Americans in today's world. Overall, it wasn't a bad book, it just wasn't great. Teenagers and younger individuals will be able to appreciate it more I think.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book! When it comes to YA I can be a little hesitant because I feel like the tropes and plotlines are all the same so I went into this one with caution. There are gossip girl and get out elements but it's also its own story (I was worried it was going to be a copy and paste of those two).We follow our two main characters Devon and Chiamaka while they are trying to figure out who in their private school is trying to ruin their lives. For YA it was pretty thrilling, and I found it hard to put down. It has really important discussions on racism and classism, and it was very frustrating to read at times. It was pretty well written and enjoyed the reveal and how everything wrapped up. However, it did get a little over the top at times. I recommend if you're a fan of YA thrillers/mysteries.

SPOILERS AHEAD: in case you want to know what happens in this book


Turns out Aces isn't just one person but the entire school. The school was created after the civil war and every 10 years they let 2 black students attend just to ruin their lives by the time they reach senior year. The goal here is to have the bullying be bad enough that they either drop out or they don't get into universities. It's beyond fucked up if you asked me. The reason for this you may ask? Well to make their confederate ancestors proud... and continue their legacy basically. Also this doesn't just happen in this school but in many others and there are also even news outlets that protect these vile people. Devon and Chiamaka manage to get out and still have successful lives and they create an organization that finds schools like these and try to protect students from going through the same things they did. The best part: Chiamaka becomes a doctor and one of the patients she is caring for because they are on the brink of death turns out to be her old headmaster..ahh I love a sweet revenge.

Wow, wow, wow! The tension in this book is non-stop. I loved the dual narrative, was totally enthralled with the mystery and both of the audiobook narrators were fantastic. Loved seeing the LGBTQ+ rep.

Gossip Girl meets Get Out is an apt description for this, and I would highly recommend checking it out.

***Thank you to Macmillan audio for providing me with a copy of the audiobook for free via NetGalley for an unbiased review.

this book makes me feel like i can never trust anyone again. i honestly suspected all of them... the whole “aces” thing was so fucked up to the point i felt sick. i think it's so so important (esp for white ppl) to understand what poc go through everyday; i definitely think i learnt a lot from this book. also??? i loved how it had both mlm and wlw rep!!!! like i've never seen both in a book before, well, nothing that i've read, so i loved it. there's nothing to criticise about this book, really, apart from chi being a BITCH at times